Picturing the Prairie

About

Picturing the Prairie

Tallgrass QC is a collaboration that raises awareness about prairie ecology in the Quad Cities region.

Wildflowers, grasses, birds, and insects take over the fourth floor gallery at the Figge with the opening of Picturing the Prairie: Tallgrass QC. The exhibition features six regional artists working in a variety of mediums, and explores the biodiversity and unique beauty of the endangered tallgrass prairie.

Tallgrass prairie stretched from Texas to Canada 150 years ago, covering millions of acres of land. As settlers expanded west, the prairie was quickly replaced with rows of crops. Less than four percent of tallgrass prairie survives in isolated patches. The artists in this exhibition live in the Midwest Region, and connect to the natural world in profound ways.

Terry Evans’ photographs of prairie specimens elegantly capture carefully preserved plants and animals in the collection of the Field Museum. Artist Jin Lee offers contemplative images of the prairie’s seasonal cycle and physical transformation in finely detailed photographs. Fiber sculptures by Mary Merkel Hess are inspired by the grassy fields of Iowa. Botanical studies, exquisitely rendered by George Olson in pencil and watercolor, capture the complexity of native grasses and wildflowers. Artist Randy Richmond creates dynamic images of Nahant Marsh, a local nature preserve, using a combination of photographic processes. Radim Schrieber’s footage of fireflies flying through prairie fields, imparts the prairie’s mystical atmosphere. In concert with one another, these works of art provide an immersive visitor experience.

Numerous species of waterfowl, songbirds, butterflies, and plants depend on the prairie habitat to survive. Waning populations of all-important pollinators, like the monarch butterfly, demonstrate that we have everything to lose if the prairie disappears. The exhibition is part of the Tallgrass QC collaboration, a joint project of WVIK, Nahant Marsh, WQPT and the Figge, to bring awareness to ecological issues in the region that will include a planting of prairie plants near the museum on Second Street, and special programs at the Figge, at Nahant Marsh, and on WVIK.